School of Nursing, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 S. 2nd St. #300, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA.
Reprod Health. 2021 Dec 11;18(1):245. doi: 10.1186/s12978-021-01294-6.
Rates of unplanned adolescent pregnancy and unsafe induced abortions are very high in Sub-Saharan African countries including Tanzania. Despite their availability and accessibility, modern family planning methods are reported to be critically underutilized by adolescents. This study is part of a broader study that aims to develop a curriculum that will be used in training health professionals by investigating the sexual health training needs of health providers and students in Tanzania.
This study describes the perceptions of health professionals and students on the provision of contraceptives to adolescents.
Qualitative formative assessment type of research was conducted using 18 focus groups stratified among health professionals and students (midwives, nurses, and medical doctors). Study participants were presented with the theoretical scenario of a 14-year-old girl who sought contraceptive services at a family planning clinic. This theoretical scenario was used to determine how health professionals and students would handle the case. Thematic analysis guided the examination and determination of data results.
Three main themes emerged from the data, including (1) knowledge about the provision of contraceptives to adolescents, (2) perception of the adolescents' right to contraceptive use, and (3) barriers to the provision of contraceptives to adolescents. Participants stated that having a baseline knowledge of contraceptive services for adolescents and their rights to contraceptives would trigger their decision on offering the contraceptive. On the other hand, being unaware of the reproductive health rights for adolescents, judgmental behavior of providers, as well as religious and cultural dynamics were all found to be major barriers for providers to offer contraceptive services to the 14-year-old adolescent girl in the theoretical scenario.
These findings support the need for comprehensive sexual health education in Tanzanian health professional training programs.
包括坦桑尼亚在内的撒哈拉以南非洲国家，青少年意外怀孕和不安全人工流产的发生率非常高。尽管现代计划生育方法已经普及且易于获取，但据报道，青少年对这些方法的利用率非常低。本研究是一项更广泛研究的一部分，旨在通过调查坦桑尼亚卫生保健提供者和学生的性健康培训需求，开发一门将用于培训卫生专业人员的课程。
本研究描述了卫生专业人员和学生对向青少年提供避孕药具的看法。
采用定性形成评估研究方法，对卫生专业人员和学生（助产士、护士和医生）进行了 18 个焦点小组分层。研究参与者被呈现了一个 14 岁少女在计划生育诊所寻求避孕服务的理论情景。这个理论情景被用来确定卫生专业人员和学生将如何处理这个案例。主题分析指导了对数据结果的检查和确定。
从数据中出现了三个主要主题，包括（1）向青少年提供避孕药具的知识，（2）对青少年使用避孕药具权利的看法，以及（3）向青少年提供避孕药具的障碍。参与者表示，对青少年避孕药具服务和他们的避孕药具权利有基本的了解，将触发他们提供避孕药具的决定。另一方面，不知道青少年的生殖健康权利、提供者的评判行为以及宗教和文化动态，都被认为是提供者在理论情景中向 14 岁少女提供避孕药具服务的主要障碍。
这些发现支持在坦桑尼亚卫生专业人员培训计划中纳入全面的性健康教育的必要性。
